Metropolisation of three intermediate cities in Santa Fe. Spatial, social, economic and political processes

Abstract

The "Creation of Metropolitan Areas" law for the province of Santa Fe (Argentina) recognizes that the towns of Rafaela, Reconquista and Venado Tuerto can be considered intermediate cities and, at the same time, as urban centers in an incipient metropolization process. The provincial State’s expectations regarding a certain capacity to promote local development in these three cities, as well as their respective histories and current realities, justify the interest of this work. The objective is to reflect on the technical / conceptual validity of that political recognition, in the light of the theoretical categories "metropolitan areas" and "intermediate cities" as well as the factual status interpretation of the three cities. The methodology combines the analysis of ad-hoc qualitative-quantitative variables and the weighting of its urban development using the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Program (ESC) indicators proposed by the Housing and Urban Development Division of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Keywords: intermediate cities; metropolization processes; development indicators.